Let’s talk about the color blue

We all know color has an influence on how we experience the world around us.

The basic meanings of colors are so universal, but at the same time culturally determined. Once we consider the significance of colors we can make more conscious choices in the use of color thus have the potency to influence the viewers mind and emotions .

So lets get started.

Blue is a cool, calm and neutral color.
It makes our heartbeat go slower, so it has a physical calming effect on us. The blue of the sea and the sky opens our view with a very broad view on all possibilities and for that reason stands for universal freedom and openness. It has the power to create space and distance and an illusion of volume. Because of this the color blue is often felt as solitude and tranquility.
It’s also a floor of trust and faithfulness, think of all the people we rely on who wear uniforms, most of the time the uniforms are blue.
The distance that this color symbolizes is most strikingly displayed by the nobility, which is elevated above the common people, because they have blue blood. Associations with cold, distant, icy, loneliness are therefore never far away, but they point to duty awareness, wisdom, truth and beauty.
The virgin Mary also wears blue to represent her role as an intermediator between humanity and the divine heavens.
Blue also translates to feelings of melancholy  and isolation. If you’re feeling blue everyone exactly knows how you feel.
Blue often represents coolness or coldness. We actually feel colder when in a blue room. So together with the calming effect it’s an ideal color for the bedroom.
Statistically blue is the most popular color in bank logos because it represents trust and authority.

In Asian culture blue is associated with immortality. In India it’s the color of Krishna who embodies love and divine joy, and many Indian sports-teams use the color blue as a symbol of their strength.

Blue is such a versatile color and the coldest of the spectrum. The slightest change in its saturation or lightness can completely alter how you respond to it. So you need to be certain if you choose a blue it will create the response you intended.

Feeling blue isn’t turquoise.

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Positive

trust
loyalty
dependability
logic
serenity
security

Negative

coldness
loneliness
sadness
unfriendliness
uncaring
unappetizing

 Famous blue art.

When you look at Henri Monet’s “Water lilies” 1906, it feels like meditation in paint. It gives a screen and tranquil state of mind. When you look at Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self-portrait”, 1889, Saint Remy it comes across as very sad and lonely due to the cool blues.

Where did I use the color blue?

I was browsing my own artwork to see where I used the color blue and I tent to use it a lot. So here’s one where I deliberate changed the color of the dress to fit the feeling I wanted to transmit.

Sometimes home is a person. – © Sabrina M

What’s your favorite hue of blue?

Here are 24 shades of blue. Today I am feeling very cornflower blue so this would probably be the one I would go for. But I also like the azure, sapphire steel, …
Yep my favorite color is blue, you’ve guest it.

• What would your choice of blue be and how does it make you feel? Tell me and the world about it. This could be very interesting.

24 shares of … by graf1x.com

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Example how the feeling of an image changes.

Photo by Joe Robles on Unsplash

To be continued – next week the color red.
Previous post on yellow.

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